Crosswise
by Omicron the IceQueen
Summary: Living shadows are dark, quick to sap the heat and live out of unprotected victims... but it is relatively orderly. When Shadows meet Chaos energy...both are a bit grumpy and drag in those linked to one or the other into this strange other world. The humans and non-humans alike need for form an alliance to find gems of power to get home. Oh, and watch out for the hungover dragons!
1. Chapter 1

**Queen's note:** This is a continual trade story with AmethystClaw on DA (not sure if she has an acount here), and fun to write to boot XD I know the monster isn't exactly the same as in the show or manga, but I wanted a difference between card and 'reality.'

**Crosswise**

Awareness came slowly, he drifted in and out of conscious for a few minutes. Or it could have been a few years, he really didn't have a grasp on that part of his brain that had the mental watch. So it took a while before he realized that maybe he should wake up. At the very least start clawing at the pieces of his mind and trying to fit them back together the right way.

As bad as it may sound, he was actually used to being knocked unconscious at this point in his life. Either from good old fashion fistfights or the magical crap from the shiny one of his best friends had. Not to mention the others.

When he was able to sort out he was not in one of the normally positions after being knocked unconscious. Not in a locker room, or nurses' office, or hospital, or his bed (or a bed at one of his friends' houses)...the ground...

Jounouichi 'Joey' Wheeler, was made aware of a splitting headache first of all. Meaning his forced nap was from the magical crap not a fish, or a fist to the head.

Don't ask about the fish, really, don't.

Back to waking up where he wasn't used to. Given it was something magic based, and he wasn't being dragged- something again was sad to admit that he was used to- that left being carried. Only, who could carry _him?_ Joey new he wasn't the biggest but he wasn't as small as his friend Yugi. He was still being carried, and from the pressure on his front, the tender softer stomach and it felt like the lower edge of his rib cage was caught on an edge or ridge of... metal? The parts that were in contact to his either savor or kidnapper were warm, but the rest of his frame was starting to shiver, making a large something (a hand?) tighten around his legs.

What the hell?

Joey cracked open one eye, seeing only hazy, colored shapes around him. The dark smudge directly below him and the wall of red and orange he was apparently on, was moving away from him. A tread mill? Why was he draped passed out on a tread mill? …did the gym or an equipment store or something like that try and eat him?

Naw, that wasn't really his brand of luck.

The young man squinted both eyes open, trying to clear them he reached up to rub the back of his wrist against one. His right hand came up short, tugged on by something black that was wrapping and twisting around his wrist and hand. "The hell?" Joey blurted aloud, struggling more actively as what heat he had been getting from the 'wall' was suddenly drained away as the darkness attached to him. It left him shivering and almost hypothermic within the minute.

Within the time that it took the wall to realize what was happening and shift it's grip on Joey's legs, holding uncomfortably tight to his knees to keep the young man in place as it twisted around. A blade flashed out in the dim light, swinging up and backwards to slice through the living shadow. There was a soft hiss as the shadows retreated from their target, the remnants hanging front the bond's wrist dissolving into mist then fading away.

"The hell man!" Joey struggled weakly but still struggled. Though far from young he was still young enough not to realize that wiggling was undignified. Then again if he did know, Joey was the type to fling that kind of dignity out the metaphorical window. The problem was that the living wall he was riding on wasn't expecting a wiggly teenager. Nor apparently how to hold onto one, for the next thing the young man knew he was meeting the ground as gravity reintroduced itself to Joey by way of the face.

Some things just needed to be said despite being too obvious or not, it just needed to be said.

"..._ow_ man, ow." Joey gasped as he rolled over from being half sprawled on his front, to laying on his back. Mostly so his rump wasn't aimed up at the sky where it could be vulnerable to any magics flying around. He'd learned his lesson about staying either upright or flat on the ground thank you.

The young man rubbed one hand on his shirt before scrubbing at his face for a moment before he froze. Startled as his whole forearm was engulfed by a _very large_ hand. Joey stared at the callused hand, and felt his stomach drop down for a visit and a chat with his batter after looking beyond the hand.

Somewhere in his brain, something went _fizzt!_

Mostly because Joey was starting at a set of dark eyes that were much older, and though human like, where not human at all. Those eyes regarding him like he was just so much raw meat as the massive frame of the other being lifted the arm it held captured in it's grip. It made Joey give a Yugi-style squeak as he was manipulated to sit up.

Standing, the living wall would be a good eight, maybe eight and a half feet tall. Broad in the shoulders, and thus the chest, the living wall was human…ish in his physical form, and clearly male in build. That build was also covered with rock-solid muscles, massive in a way but not in a ridiculous budging the being still put Joey's forming muscles to complete shame.

Dark eyes, that had irises the same black as his pupils, were old and had fathomless years of battle experience.

What parts of his frame wasn't clad in thick, rusty red colored armor there was black fabric of pants and shirt, and a silver horned helmet. The being had just as thick boots on that protected large feet from not just the hazards of the ground but able to keep traction while fighting. That long broad sword was just as impressive on its owner, resting on the ground just to Joey's left. It was a strange red-ish orange metal, colored _metal_ not painted as evidence by the nicks and warn groves. Not to say the sword wasn't sharp, Joey could also see that with his bugged out eyes locked onto the sword as it rose up over him.

_I'm toasty._ The teen thought in numb horror at the same time the being's form fitted into place onto his mind. _Oh gods, Ra, that's the flame swordsman. One of my monsters is going to turn me in to _sliced_ toast!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Crosswise**

The mingling emotions of awe and fear showed clearly on Joey's face as he watched the blade over his head, then confusion leaked in as the bade rose higher above him before swinging around to stop behind the Monster. It clicked into place on hooks in the Monster's back plate.

The warrior shifted from his kneeling position, lifting his left hand up, pulling Joey up with the motion by his arm. The other massive paw like hand came back down to wrap around the slender youthful ribcage. This time the awake teenager didn't wiggle-struggle as he was picked back up and cradled into those powerful arms as the being made a strange inhuman almost animalistic sound came from the Monster. Joey was still reeling from seeing the not quiet man from the Shadow Realm again… again…

Fact fit into fact, and a spare fact flittered into his mind as well to join the other two.

Joey will admit, but only quietly and to himself or to Yugi, that he wasn't really the fastest bird in the flock. Every now and then he can figure out a problem (mostly mechanical ones) first. Though as his other best friend that loved to point out, most of the time it took time for Joey to figure stuff out. A little more so when all this magical crap going on in his life right now.

The darkness around him, the chill in the air and heat sucking, living shadow that attacked him and left Joey feeling weak. Not the level of weakness like one felt after working too hard in P.E. or out running a person of authority after doing a Stupid Teenage Moment. No, this what Joey was feeling like as he stared at the chest plate of the swordsman that was walking again; what he was feeling was the shivering, bone aching and stomach emptying weakness that comes from being right in the middle of the flu. Right now the only warmth came from the Monster's large frame, almost radiating heat like a living fire.

The meaning of _Flame_ Swordsman would never be the same.

But that fact from before remained, Joey was in the Shadow Real as far as he could tell. He couldn't remember _how_ he got here, so that was worrying, and the teen was pretty sure his whole body, not just his sol alone was in this other world.

A rumble vibrated around the young man as the swordsman shifted the youth, "Do not fear my little master, you are protected for now." The Monster gave Joey a light squeeze around his knees.

The voice was far deeper than any adult man that Joey knew, and given how tall the Monster was it wasn't that much of a surprise. The swordsman had an accent Joey didn't know, not his fathers, or mothers, not American or Japanese. Nor was it exactly like Yugi's other half, not Egyptian, er, ancient Egyptian. Through Joey had learned some interesting words and phrases from Yami, he hadn't quiet fully picked up a fourth language; the third he spoke was Spanish, as fluent as his other two 'native' ones (both his sister and he learned it on their own to keep conversations away from their parents either in person or on the phone).

"You're… the flame swordsman." Joey said creatively, a strange mix of Japanese and Egyptian words. "…hi."

The Monster chuckled against him, "Hello at last my young Master." He almost purred down at Joey as he shifted the boy.

"…master?" Joey puzzled over that, making his unseen guardian angel slap a hand to its face before slapping the boy. His fingers twitched to his Deck, hidden in an inside jacket pocket, "Wait…"

"Yes, I am the same one that you were bonded to that night," The Monster said, giving another squeeze to the teen's legs. If he noticed the stiffness in his passenger as the swordsman walked, he didn't comment. He had a destination and mission in mind and nothing short of a blue eyed, white scaled creature on silver wings would divert him… even then it would be a hard job since the whispers from the shadows hinted that every draconic form was currently suffering from, what the modern and old worlds alike knew all too well; hang overs.

"What's your name?"

The completely unexpected question had the Monster almost stopping his long stride to stare down at the once more nervous teen. The human master, young and so new to casting that he keeled over in a faint after experimenting... was kind enough to want to know his Monster's name?

"…Tonga." The sword master said slowly.

"Hi Tonga, I'm Joey." The teen said, waving awkwardly with the free hand that wasn't pinned against the armor clad chest against his right. Since the Monster had proved to be, if not entirely 'friendly' than at least and ally (and Joey didn't want to think about that link he had to his Flame Swordsman card and when that), "Can, um, where the hell are we going?"

It was almost a full minute later when the deep voice said, "To the only one that can keep the shadows from you."

"Yami?" Joey blinked, as strong as he know his friend was become in his personal magics, the dark spirit that Yugi hosted was just stronger in the control of the Shadow Realm. Not to mention he had a _lot_ of years of experience.

"No, not the desert king." Tonga shook his head, then smirked as he spotted something. "The Pharaoh's talents lay in the shadow's themselves. You though my little Master, you need your fire re-sparked after what the Shadows where dong. Drawing out." Before the teen could comment or question him, the Monster stopped and almost swung the human down to the ground.

Large hands gripping Joey's shoulders not only kept him upright as he staggered, but also kept joey from falling over as he instinctively reacted to seeing a predator that out classed him.

A wave of heat washed over both human and Monster, paused long enough for the truly massive frame to inhale before exhaling in time with another wave of heat.

"Holy Ra shit." Joey blurted out, the filters between his brain and mouth failing once more.

Even the shadows in this night time world paused subtle movements, everything staring at the teen, baffled at the very odd curse. The dragon turned its red eyes to meet Tonga's gaze as if wondering what the sword master had brought.


End file.
